Was this ‘Charmer’ the hand of Esau behind the problem in Senegal — by Kelechi Deca
When I saw the Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday at United Nations headquarters in New York, I nodded to myself.
A key aspect of what led to the badblood between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former ally and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko had to do with Faye’s reluctance to assert full independence in relation with France.
Faye and Sonko rose together through the PASTEF (African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics and Fraternity) party, and when the courts barred Sonko from running in the 2024 presidential election (due to the perceived independence mindedness) by powers that be, PASTEF backed Faye under the campaign slogan “Diomaye is Sonko” thus riding on the back of Sonko’s popularity, Faye won the election and appointed Sonko as prime minister.
However, tensions grew over economic strategies, public debt management (with public debt reaching high levels because the former administration hid substantial figures from them in their handover notes), which led to very uncomfortable negotioations and re-negotiations with international lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Faye publicly criticized the “excessive personalization” of power around Sonko, seeking to assert his independent authority as head of state.
He was surreptitiously advised to sideline Sonko and assert his independence from the alliance, so on May 22, 2026, Faye dismissed Sonko as Prime Minister and dissolved the government.
To counter such “brutish” political strategem, Sonko subsequently became the Speaker of the National Assembly, moving into opposition as PASTEF refused to join Faye’s newly formed cabinet.
Left in the cold without a political machinery of his own, Faye, in July 2026, launched Kiiraay (meaning “protection” or “shield” in Wolof) in Dakar to establish an independent political base centered around institutional ethics rather than individual personalities.
In my appraisal of the issues, Sonkoh adopted a brazen undiplomatic approach in handling issues of economic diplomacy, while Faye was more eager to warm up to the same partners whose actions have held down the country for too long.
So when President Faye agreed to meet the “jogging” President to review bilateral ties and align strategies on critical international issues, I knew he has fallen back to the same trap elders like the Apostle of Negritude Leopold Sedar Senghor, Abdul Diouf, Abdoulaye Wade, and Macky Sall.
At least he tried to tow the footsteps of Macky Sall by becoming the second President of Senegal who did not marry a foreign woman.
According to Presidential sources, the meeting with President Macron formed part of President Faye’s broader diplomatic schedule in New York aimed at strengthening Senegal’s international partnerships and advocating for enhanced multilateral cooperation.
